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Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig rejected a proposed broadcasting deal between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Fox Sports on Monday.

Few observers expected Major League Baseball to approve the deal valued at $3 billion over 17 years.

It would have supplied Frank McCourt with enough money to meet the next Dodger payroll, and it would have given him a pretty good shot at retaining ownership of the team. But most observers believe Commissioner Bud Selig soured on that idea a long time ago.

Selig’s decision on the TV contract also nullifies the divorce settlement Frank and Jamie McCourt signed last week. The McCourts had agreed to a one-day trial in August to determine whether Frank alone owns the Dodgers or the team is community property.

Now the McCourts are back at the drawing board, and Frank is back to scrambling so he can make the next Dodgers payroll by June 30. If he doesn’t, Major League Baseball could seize the team and put it up for sale. And if that happens, Frank McCourt could sue Major League Baseball and generate more and longer battles in court.